The Patrol Leaders Council last met on January 3rd to make plans for February’s troop meetings and events and put the finishing touches on our plans for January. You can see the details of these events after the jump by clicking the ‘Continuing reading’ link below:
Troop enjoys holiday snacks! Click for photo album
Because of school break, we usually only have one troop meeting in December and this year was no exception. During on December 13th troop meeting we held our annual Holiday Party. Patrols brought in food and drinks to share with the troop members.
We also held our traditional Pirate Christmas gift exchange in which each Scout brought in a wrapped gift (worth about $5) and put their name in bag. Names were drawn and the Scout chosen could open an unwrapped gift from the table or steal an already opened gift from another Scout. Any Scout who had their gift stolen could then also choose to open a new gift or make yet another steal. “Unique” gifts this year included a disco ball, a giant whoopee cushion, a disembodied arm, and … wait for it … a “Nuns Having Fun” calendar.
It was a great night of fun and fellowship to carry us into the new year our next troop meeting is four weeks away on January 10th. See everyone in 2012!
Westhampton luminaries, click for album
A beautiful ceremony on a gorgeous night with perfect weather thanks to some of the best people anyone could ask for.
Once again, the Troop 737 community came together to construct, place, and light over 3,500 luminaries in support of Westhampton Memorial Park’s annual Candlelight Remembrance Service. After building all of the luminaries in just one night, the troop maintained their efficiency by placing all of the luminaries in record time Saturday morning and then returning in the afternoon and lighting all luminaries in just over an hour. It provided a beautiful setting for the service that began at 5pm in the park’s mausoleum.
The troop also continued our participation in the actual service as our chaplain aide, Justin Trickett, shared the meaning of the luminaries with an inspirational reading entitled “The Light That Shines Upon Us.” Justin was joined by our SPL, Michael Mickle, to bring in a luminary from outside into the mausoleum to share the light with community gathered inside. At the end of the service assistant Scoutmaster Scott Trickett’s golden voice led the group in a rendition of “Silent Night.”
Throughout the night, members of the Troop 737 community maintained a post near the office where we shared fellowship and our famous mulled cider while Scouts placed additional luminaries at sites designated by friends and family of those that have passed.
The Patrol Leaders Council last met on December 6th to make plans for January’s troop meetings and events and put the finishing touches on our plans for December. You can see the details of these events after the jump by clicking the ‘Continuing reading’ link below:
Luminary construction, click for photo album
It’s a luminary miracle!
On Monday, December 5th, Scouts, leaders, parents, and siblings from the Troop 737 community came together at Westhampton Memorial Park to construct 3500+ luminaries in support of our Holiday Celebration that will take place this weekend. Once again, Sue Menefee, our coordinator, organized an incredible effort that saw us build faster and more efficiently than ever before. Huge thanks to her and to all the members of our troop family that spent the evening in cheerful service with us.
On Saturday morning beginning at 9am the troop will return to the memorial park to place all of these luminaries along the roads and gravesites. We will then return at 3:30pm to light them all so the park is ready for their holiday memorial service that will be held in the mausoleum beginning at 5pm. I hope everyone will be able to join us.
Summit gathering, click for photo album
Another month … another mountain climb to a rocky summit with tremendous views!
During the first weekend in December, 17 Scouts and 6 adult leaders from Troop 737 took advantage of incredibly beautiful weather and hiked up to the summit of Sharp Top mountain and its 360-degree views of the valleys below. After having our trail lunch on the rocks at the summit, we explored the western slope of the mountain to locate the site of a 1943 crash of a B-25 bomber. An abundance of wreckage still remains as well as a memorial that was placed there in 2001. It was a unique, interesting, and somber visit.
Our base of operations for the weekend was Smith Mountain Lake State Park where we rented four cabins that provided us much more luxurious winter accomodations than we are used to. Patrols took advantage of the fully equipped kitchens to make some pretty impressive meals. There was also lots of good patrol bonding and fellowship in the evening with wood stoves substituting for our normal campfires.
Pie delivery, click for photo album
What a great way to begin the Thanksgiving holiday!
Taking advantage of an early dismissal from school, nine Scouts from Troop 737 met at Little Sisters of the Poor on the day before Thanksgiving to deliver the ten pumpkin pies they had baked at the troop meeting the night before. This is the fourth straight year that the troop has chosen to perform this service and after the enthusiasm the Scouts witnessed from the staff during their delivery, I’m sure we will continue this for many more years to come.
Baking and delivery the pies was the final act in a November full of troop community service. From the council’s Scouting for Food collection, our annual Veterans Day event at Westhampton, our food drive for the Saint Mary’s Food Pantry, to the pie making and delivery, Scouts once again had numerous opportunities to “do a good turn daily.”
Flaming Geckos mix it up, click for photo album
Our last troop meeting before Thanksgiving saw the troop participate in the annual making of pumpkin pies that we deliver to Little Sisters of the Poor for their Thanksgiving celebration. Each patrol is given a set of ingredients and they make two pumpkin pies that are cooked during the meeting. While the ten pies were cooking, patrols were allowed to fill their plates with goodies brought in by the Scouts to share. Then most of the patrols spent the rest of the meeting hearing one of our ASPLs, Gardner Merithew, explain the history of Thanksgiving and then watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving while eating.
Our Venture Patrol, made up of our older Scouts who are in grade 10 or above, held their own patrol meeting where they made model rockets. This is part of our troop’s efforts to provide an older Scout program to engage and retain these valuable Scouts.
Our November 15th troop meeting was centered around our monthly theme of Astronomy. During the meeting, Scouts had a chance to learn about stars and planets, check out telescopes, receive star charts, and have a chance to go outside and locate constellations in the night sky. Many of these activities will help Scouts complete requirements necessary for the Astronomy merit badge.
Before the star gazing commenced, we had a 20-minute meeting period for each patrol to get together to cover patrol needs and upcoming activities. For instance, many patrols finalized their activities for Patrol Activity Night on November 29th and began planning their menus for the Dec 2-4 cabin campout at Smith Mountain Lake.
Scouts take in the view from the Knob
Well, McAfee Knob did not fail to impress!
The troop’s November outing took us down towards Roanoke for a backpacking trek up to the most photographed spot on the entire Appalachian Trail: McAfee Knob. 13 Scouts and eight adult leaders did the 10-mile roundtrip hike in two groups. One group backpacked the Appalachian Trail up and over the Knob to the Campbell Shelter. The other group, which was also conducting a Leave No Trace Trainer course, backpacked the fire road to the Campbell Shelter and then day-hiked up to the Knob and back. We all hiked out on the fire road on Sunday back to the trailhead.
The troop left from the shed on Friday night and drove about 150 miles to the Hopper Creek Group Camp near Natural Bridge Station and spent the night there so we could get an early start the next day. On Saturday we drove another 50 miles south to the trailhead parking lot near Catawba, VA where we began our trekking.
Why McAfee Knob? Because it is drop-dead gorgeous. The Knob is a massive rock formation jutting out into thin air over the Catawba Valley. The 270-degree view (everything except through the forest directly behind) looks out over the Catawba Valley and North Mountain to the west, Tinker Cliffs to the north, and the Roanoke Valley to the east. Further away, the Allegheny Mountains can be seen on the western horizon and our December outing destionation, Sharp Top, points skyward to the northeast.
